Four joueurs de renom à échanger avant la date limite.
The Red Sox may make it through the summer with just David Hamilton and Enmanuel Valdez.
It was revealed last week that the Boston Red Sox were hoping to acquire a short-term shortstop and a left-handed starting pitcher in order to cover for Trevor Story until he returns in 2025.
The return of infielder Enmanuel Valdez and the solid play of David Hamilton could allow Craig Breslow to conserve his money for other needs rather than making a trade for a shortstop this summer. Red Sox supporters would love to see the front office add a lefty starter.
Earlier in the season, Valdez had a difficult debut for the team. He was demoted in favor of former Sox infielder Zack Short after hitting.176/.192/.328. But since his return, he has adopted a quite different strategy, and the outcomes have been ascertained.
Valdez is at bat right now.341/.431/.750 since Boston recalled him on May 29, with more walks than strikeouts. Valdez was a solid batter for the Sox in 2023, despite the fact that no one anticipates him to be a star. This appears to be less of a genuine breakthrough and more of a reversion to the status quo.
The Red Sox appear to have found a long-term middle infield solution in David Hamilton and Enmanuel Valdez.
Valdez’s bat has been sufficient to lead him to success in the past even though he isn’t a top defensive player at any position. Fans of the Sox can relax and let Vaughn Grissom continue to progress at his own speed as long as he’s playing this well.
Fortunately for Boston, David Hamilton, an infielder, has proven capable as well. Similar to Valdez, he isn’t a particularly good defender, but generally, he has greatly improved Alex Cora’s offense.
Through 52 games, Hamilton is batting.286/.335/.435 with good plate discipline. With his 21 steals, which rank seventh in MLB, he has also proven to be a reliable shortstop defender, forcing Ceddanne Rafaela back into the outfield on most days.
Over the last three weeks, Hamilton and Valdez have been an unexpectedly effective combination, and all of the projected statistics based on batted ball data indicate that these trends will continue. If the Red Sox can depend on Hamilton and Valdez in the middle infield, they might be a huge help to Breslow and the team. The front management may decide to use their resources in order to acquire an impact starting pitcher before the trade deadline.
It would be unfortunate to squander prospect money on a player with a short career, such as Paul DeJong, just to have him blow up in Boston.
The Boston Red Sox are still holding out hope that top prospect Marcelo Mayer will visit their city. However, Valdez and Hamilton could be a strong enough combination in the interim to discourage supporters from shopping around for a middle infielder during the trade deadline.
